


Glitch

by yanjunslut



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Black Mirror Fusion, Alternate Universe- Black Mirror Episode: s03e05 Men Against Fire, Inspired by Black Mirror, M/M, Non Explicit Sex, doctor!woojin, dystopian setting, nurse!felix, rebel!jisung, rebel!minho, soldier!chan, soldier!seungmin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-21 14:44:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18704440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yanjunslut/pseuds/yanjunslut
Summary: a glitch may lead chan to the boy in his dreams





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is inspired by the black mirror episode men against fire; the overall concept is from the show but there are also parts simply from my own mind.
> 
> all 9 members will show up throughout the story~

 

_Chan smiles as lips crash against his once more, pulling the boy close to him, strong arms wrapped around broad shoulders. The boy smiles down at him, tanned skin golden against clean white sheets, then pushes Chan down with a laugh, the two falling back against plush white pillows._

_Chan cards his hand through the boy’s black hair as he kisses his way down Chan’s chest, the soothing motion turning to urgent tugging the lower the boy goes._

_“At least try to keep still,” the boy giggles against Chan’s thigh, traces of a smirk across his lips as he leans down again, and then Chan’s hips are snapping up involuntarily, and both his hands are in the other’s hair, desperate to ground himself in the moment._

_“Woojin, ah, Woojin, Woojin, Woojin…”_

The name turns into the monotonous morning alarm and then Chan sits upright, body jerking as he blinks himself awake, the loss of the boy’s mouth on him leaving him unpleasantly cold as he stares up at the ceiling with a frown.

He dresses in silence, ignoring the murmur of his dorm mates getting ready around him, mind still caught up in his dreams as he tugs on his suit. He doesn’t bother to look in the mirror on the way out, just shuffles through the bunk beds to the door with a yawn.

“Ugh.” Perhaps he should’ve splashed more water over his face before leaving the dormitory.

Chan steps onto the balcony, one arm raised to shield his eyes from the sun as he watches his fellow soldiers pairing off and climbing into cars to leave for their individual missions for the day. He notes his partner Seungmin already in the passenger seat of their car and jogs over, placing his hand against the car door. The car beeps after recognising his ID and the door slides open, Chan hastily pulling himself up into his seat with one arm while using the other to tug his helmet over sleep-rustled blonde curls.

“You’re always up earlier than everyone, huh, Min?” Chan chuckles as he pulls his seatbelt around him and starts up the car. “Think that’ll earn you extra points towards becoming a squad leader?”

Seungmin smiles, looking straight ahead. “I’m counting on it.”

******

“It’s been fifteen minutes now,” Seungmin whispers, shifting his rifle’s weight from one hand to another. “I think we should just move.”

“My tracker indicates the roaches are close, hold your post, Seungmin.”

Seungmin grinds his teeth but juts his chin in acknowledgment of the squad leader’s words, nevertheless remaining braced to run.

“There! On your left, twenty metres up!”

Seungmin takes off immediately, the forest a sudden frenzy as the soldiers break into a run, roaches spilling out from their places behind the trees, running in circles as they realise they have nowhere to run.

Screams ring out through the forest, bodies dropping like flies as the soldiers shoot accurately and mercilessly. Chan ceases running to stand just metres from his partner, rifle raised and eyes locking in on a roach running toward him while snarling viciously, sharp teeth snapping angrily. Another three follow behind and Chan begins to fire, a shrill cry in the air as he hits the first, followed by wailing as he continues to hit his targets.  

_“Jeongin, no!”_

Chan swivels around to find a red haired roach standing just two metres in front of him, a green light glowing in his enclosed fist. He unclenches his hand and thrusts it closer to Chan, flashing it into the soldier’s eyes, rendering him unable to see for a moment.

“Fuck!” Chan grips his head with both hands as a shock of pain racks through his body, his vision blurring before going static. He tries to force himself to look at the roach before him, but sees spots- then a boy? Black spots, grey lines, white spots, a boy again-

“Argh!” He lets go of his head, taking his rifle and begins blindly shooting ahead of him, ignoring the screams as the rounds smack into the bodies around him.

_“Jeongin! Jeongin!”_

“This way!” Suddenly Seungmin is by his side, grabbing the older boy’s arm and steering him away from the fighting, taking all of Chan’s weight as they half-run through the trees and back to the car.

******

The ride back is quiet and quick, Seungmin having taken one look at the elder and getting in the driver’s seat. Chan barely has time to be thankful; the minutes pass by unbeknownst to him: all he can do is dig his nails into his palms and hope the static and confusion muddled inside his brain subsides with a good night’s sleep.

He nods goodbye to Seungmin silently, already taking off his jacket as he enters his dormitory. Nausea overcomes Chan as he changes back into the uniform grey sleepwear, eyes closing as he does up the final buttons on his shirt. His head hits the pillow and he’s out like a light, hands sifting through black hair once more as his breathing evens into a deep sleep.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> woojin and felix try their best to fix everyone while their boyfriends are miles away from reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> much of this is heavily non canon as per black mirror, it is only the neural chip concept that relates to the episode in this chapter

Sunshine filters through slatted blinds, bathing the bed in a golden warmth. The window is ajar, only slightly, just enough to allow a soft breeze and the faint sound of chirping birds into the room.

Woojin awakens slowly, blinking sleepily, one hand on his chest as it rises and falls, and the other… stretched out as always, reaching out for someone.

Reaching for Chan.

Almost two years have passed since Chan was taken. To the military, the government told them that day. That day when everything changed, when the government sorted civilians into those who were deemed worthy, and those considered genetically inferior.

Chaos, essentially.

It wasn’t long before the soldiers were created, either volunteering or taken against their will, with the neural implant called MASS inserted into their brains and giving them heightened senses including sight, sound, smell, data provided by augmented reality… and sex dreams at night, which Woojin honestly didn’t know what to make of.

On top of these senses, the neural chip distorts the soldiers’ visions of humans. Thus far, Woojin and his fellow doctors haven’t been able to figure out what it is that the soldiers see, only that it is something inhuman; they refer to the humans as roaches, according to all the reports from both the Runners and the Lost.  

Woojin has never been outside the Refuge since the war broke out. As soon as it became evident that it was unsafe to exist as a human dubbed “inferior” by the government, a group of people had run for their lives, far out from the main cities to build an area in the country, walled off from the rest of the world. It had started off small, growing over time as more and more were brought home by the Runners, those who venture outside to find the inferior humans- the Lost- before the soldiers do.

The Refuge is surrounded by the homes of ‘worthy humans’, allies of those under threat, who live in the remote areas in front of the technological wall concealing the Refuge from those who don’t know of its existence, a marvel that had only been fully constructed almost a year after their arrival.

During that time, a makeshift hospital was created, but the number of patients arriving each day greatly outgrew qualified doctors, and Woojin found himself amongst those smart enough to be trained up by the elder doctors alongside his friend Jisung.

Woojin hauls himself out of bed, stretching skyward with a scoff. Jisung had more talent than any of the others- hell, the boy was a genius- but he’d given it up five months in after treating a boy brought in with a bullet dangerously close to his heart. Jisung managed to save the boy and fall head over heels for him, all in one day.

Lee Minho, the patient of the operation, had fallen for the younger boy and managed to convince Jisung to become a Runner with him. It stresses Woojin out every day, never knowing if the two will return. They’ve returned everyday so far, he just had to have faith they’d continue to do so.

Woojin walks to the dresser, pulling out a pastel pink jumper to go with his white pants and doctor’s coat. He likes to dress cheerily, wanting to bring happiness to his patients in their toughest moments.

He pulls his clothes on and brushes his black hair quickly, then runs his hands through it once more, missing the way Chan used to do it. Then he grabs his satchel and walks out the door, already a few minutes late, like he always is.

******

“There we go, you’re doing great,” Woojin says, sitting down in his chair. “I’m working on it, Bin.”

Reclined in his chair, Woojin’s patient of four months stares up at him blankly, relaxed after another round of anaesthetic drugs Woojin can only pray will knock the boy out, relieve him of the permanent pain he lives with.

“Hey, Woojin.”

Woojin looks up at the blonde boy entering his office, grinning sunnily at him as he closes the door behind him. As much as he missed Jisung’s constant company when the other boy first left, he was grateful to have made close friends with Felix, having trained the younger nurse himself.

“Felix,” Woojin grins back. “Come on over.”

Felix exhales softly, quiet as he comes to sit beside the boy. “How’s he doing today?”

It’s all Woojin can do not to cry as every day, Felix comes to visit this boy, Seo Changbin- his boyfriend who was taken around the same time as Chan and forced to become a soldier. Changbin had been knocked out and brought in by Runners in an attempt to analyse the chip and work out how to get rid of it, and Felix had been in the emergency room as he’d been wheeled in, breaking down upon recognising him immediately.

Four months with Changbin, and Woojin is still working hard to find a way to pull the chip from Changbin’s mind without killing him. Other soldiers had been saved already but with Changbin something had gone wrong, his nerves winding around the chip, making it extremely hard to detach it without something going seriously wrong. While they had observed that the chip should be able to deactivate whilst inside the brain, Changbin’s was working against him, leaving him in a permanent state of pain- white noise and static ringing through his head causing on and off seizures.

Woojin smiles. “Same as always. Doesn’t say much.”

The younger laughs a little. “I suppose he doesn’t.”

After a few minutes of silently watching Woojin assess Changbin’s brain activity onscreen, Felix clears his throat, tapping his fingers nervously on his thighs. “Uh… Woojin… have you made any progress? Further progress, I mean, are you any closer to… to removing the chip?”

A pen drops onto the floor, and Woojin stands up.

“Shit, I didn’t mean to-“

“No, no,” Woojin laughs, “It’s good, Felix. I think I’m nearly there.”

Felix’s jaw drops. “Really?”

“Really!”

“I just want my boyfriend back,” Felix whispers, taking Changbin’s hands in his.

An image of Chan flashes in Woojin’s brain, all fluffy blonde hair and crescent eyes mid-laugh, and Woojin smiles sadly. “I understand.”

Suddenly Changbin bolts upright in his chair, body convulsing, screaming and hitting out blindly, knocking Woojin over.

Felix moves his hands frantically up and down Changbin’s arms, trying to calm him or somehow stop his spasms. “Changbin? Changbin! Changbin, can you hear me?”

“He’s seizing up, I need you to calm down and step back-“

The lights outside Woojin’s office begin to flash and a siren blares loudly throughout the hospital: _ALL PERSONELL TO THE FOYER IMMEDIATELY. REPEAT, ALL PERSONELL TO THE FOYER IMMEDIATELY._

Felix shakes his head, tears in his eyes as he gazes at Changbin, eyes glassed over and trembling in the chair. “No, I c-can’t- I can’t leave him-“

“Felix, they _need_ you.” Woojin brings his palm to rest against Felix’s cheek, then leans forward to kiss his forehead softly. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“Promise?”

He doesn’t wait for Woojin’s answer, just runs out the door towards the lobby, eyes widening as he takes in the flock of incoming patients. So many more than usual. A mix of the Lost and the Runners, so many injured to various degrees, nurses running to evaluate the seriousness of the injuries before sending them straight to the doctors’ rooms or into the waiting area.

Felix scans the faces, unable to see his friends amongst the returned Runners. _Fucks sake, would it kill Minho and Jisung to stop dragging themselves into danger every day?_

He shakes off the thought, not wanting to dwell on their whereabouts right now, and jogs toward the nearest nurse. “Eric, where do you want me?”

Eric ceases shouting orders and looks up from his clipboard to point to one of the gurneys at his left. “Gunshot to the left shoulder, there’s no room in Emergency right now so I need you to make room in one of the back offices.”

“Got it,” Felix replies, rolling up the sleeves of his coat and pushing his blonde hair up off his forehead as he moves to the stretcher, wheeling it off down the hall with a quick wave to Eric. The boy on the stretcher twists in pain at the jolty movements of the wheels, clutching at his shoulder with a cry.

“What’s your name?”

The boy tries to smile, red hair fanning out against his pillow. His fists clench and unclench repeatedly at his sides. “Jeongin. It’s Jeongin.”

“Okay, Jeongin,” Felix smiles at him brightly, moving his hand to cover the younger boy’s larger one, “my name is Felix, and I’m gonna do everything I can to get you fixed up.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- the eric in question is eric from the boyz because he would be the most uwu nurse in the world
> 
> \- yeah i took the basic ass route of just capitalising words in dystopian worlds because i could not be bothered thinking up anything else and honestly it's not really important in the grand scheme of things mndsfshks


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chan recognises a familiar face on a mission

“Get out here and go get that thing! I’m going to park the car!”

Chan takes his belt off and slides out of the car, the door sliding shut as Seungmin speeds away to the target house, leaving the blonde soldier alone and facing a human.

_A human?_

He walks toward the boy, who begins to back away at the sight of Chan’s rifle, terror in his eyes.

“Please! Please don’t hurt me!”

Chan gasps as the boy’s words register in his brain. “I can- I can hear you.”

“Yes, yes!” The boy comes closer, hands clasped to his chest. “Someone got to you, didn’t they? A light to your eye, and you see us as humans again-“

“Humans,” Chan says slowly, taking in the boy before him: taller than him, lean, dark haired- big lips and deep brown eyes: and no terrifying grey eyes or sharp teeth in sight. “… no roaches.”

The boy exhales with a cry. “Yes, none, no roaches! We’re just humans- it’s that chip in your brain, the MASS system rewires you to see us as monsters. But it’s just-“

“The government… the war,” Chan tries to think. “I can’t remember enough-“

“It’s okay! It’s okay.” The boy holds out his hand. “My name is Hyunjin, I’m just trying to find my way to the Refuge, I’ve been looking for it since the war and I’m so close-“

“Kill it!” Seungmin orders, arriving at Chan’s side. He points his rifle at Hyunjin, who screams in fright and falls backwards, collapsing onto a pile of wood and smacking his head hard. Blood begins to pool, staining the wood, and Chan’s breathing turns erratic at the sight, babbling, “oh, fuck, oh my god, fuck, Min you killed him- ah!”

The other soldier hits him across the face with a resounding slap. “Get it together, Chan, Jesus! Let’s move!”

Almost tripping over his own feet, Chan runs after the younger boy, holding back frustrated tears. They walk straight into the house amidst yelling from the squad leader, and Chan covers his mouth in horror as he takes in the sight of the home owner already knocked unconscious, the squad leader kicking at his body and shouting about protecting roaches.

“Take him to the car!” She turns, barking out, “search the whole place!”

Seungmin dashes for the second floor. Chan hesitates before following, still trying to come to terms with the sudden appearance of humans that nobody else appeared to see. He reaches the top of the stairs as Seungmin busts in the bedroom door with a sharp kick and runs to the opened doors leading to the balcony. Two figures spin around at the noise and Seungmin aims his rifle at the smaller of the two, a brown-haired boy, straddling the balcony rail.

“Wait, Seungmin, stop!”

Seungmin turns to Chan, brows knitted in annoyance. “What is up with you today?”

“I- I don’t- you’re not seeing them properly-“

“Minho, run,” the brown-haired boy whispers urgently, large frightened eyes flickering between the soldiers in confusion, settling on Chan with a gasp. “Chan.”

“Jisung.” Chan whispers, a feeling of panic and – recognition? - washing over him. _What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck-_

Before Seungmin can pull the trigger, the black haired boy- Minho- reaches into his pocket to pull an LED light. Chan stops still, warning bells going off in his mind. _That’s the same one the kid from yesterday had-_

Minho flashes the light into Seungmin’s eyes, leaping back as the soldier blinks, beginning to lash out with a yell. “What did you do to me?!”

The soldier grabs Jisung, sloppily, sweat dripping down his temples as adrenaline courses through him, shaking his head violently, and Chan watches wide-eyed, knowing exactly what he’s going through.

“Seungmin, stop-“

A blood-curdling scream fills the air and Seungmin wrenches his arm away, revealing Jisung panting, a knife in hand. Without another word he drops from the balcony, landing with a roll in the flower bed below.  

He doesn’t have time to even stand before multiple soldiers are on him, roughly pinning his arms behind his back, a gun to his skull.

“Jisung!” Minho cries out, ready to clamber over the rail after the other boy, fear in his eyes as he watches the soldiers shoving Jisung into a car. Jisung mouths something to Minho, a sad smile on his face and then the door is closing, the car speeding off down the driveway.

“No!” Chan grabs the black-haired boy. “Throwing yourself into their hands will just get you both killed.”

“Then what the fuck am I supposed to do?” Minho spits, leaning away from Seungmin, the soldier whining in pain and clutching his head.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs echoes, and Chan holds Minho’s gaze firmly. “Run.”

Minho freezes, a mix of fear and confusion on his face.

“You heard me!” Chan yells, wrapping an arm around Seungmin to support the other, “get outta here now! You can jump from the window in the bedroom at the end of the hall!”

The other boy takes off, disappearing down the hall as Chan helps Seungmin off the balcony and back to the stairs, other soldiers making their way down beside them.

“What the hell is happening to me?” Seungmin groans, hands shakily trying to unclip his helmet. He breathes heavily, blood running steadily down his wrist from Jisung’s knife-inflicted wound. “It’s so hot- so hot-“

Chan pulls the other boy’s helmet off. “I’ll carry it, here-“

He reaches inside his top pocket for a cloth, carefully wrapping it around the younger boy’s wrist.

“Chan.” Seungmin comes to a stop as they reach the front door, turning away from the screams and panic from the fighting outside. He lets the other soldiers pass by before speaking quietly. “How did you know that boy’s name?”

Chan remains silent, focused on bandaging his partner’s wrist.

“And why am I no longer seeing roaches?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoping this all makes sense mshdsfffhdgsj


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jisung is full of regrets; chan and seungmin have decisions to make

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uploading again at 3 am n my mum is ready to beat my ass but here we go

“Fuck.”

Twenty four hours have passed. Twenty four hours Jisung has spent stuck in a cell with at least twenty others. Three cells in total are filled, each stuffed beyond their means: intended only for holding one prisoner originally, but as Jisung paces up and down he supposes, why would they give a roach its own cell?

The guards wandered past less than thirty minutes ago, disgust evident on their faces as they take in the perceived roaches. Jisung had leant against the glass wall, blocking out the noise to focus on the soldier’s words. Experimenting, he learns is why they’re here. Experimenting and observation.

He hasn’t eaten since arriving here, but he wanted to throw up whatever was left inside him.

“Why did we have to leave home this morning? Fuck!” He hurls his water bowl against the cell wall, angry when the impact is muffled by the screams of a young woman across from him. He sits down once more, squashed between a wailing middle-aged woman and silent older man, claustrophobia setting in.

They’d had so many close shaves, he and Minho, both together and with other Runners; Jisung didn’t like to count the ones who hadn’t made it back home with them. They could have cut loose, ended it ages ago, Jisung putting his brain to use as a doctor like they’d wanted him to be- or whatever he wanted really, the science field was full of opportunities for him- and Minho could’ve become a nurse, or a vet… Minho loves animals… just … anything that wasn’t risking their lives every single day.

But they never stopped. Eighteen months and counting now.

“And for what,” Jisung whispers aloud, words lost in the current of desperate cries and sobs from his fellow prisoners. He tucks his knees up onto the bench, chin rested atop them, drifting asleep with Minho’s name on his lips as he rocks himself gently back and forth, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

******

“Soldier Bang.”

Chan’s head jerks up as a man looking to be in his late fifties enters the tiny office, spectacles on and only an iPad in hand. “Good afternoon, sir.”

“Doctor Lim.” The man smiles, tapping on the device. “I understand you’ve been seeing things, and I’m here to fix that.”

“Uh… not exactly,” Chan runs his hands through his hair anxiously. He makes eye contact with Seungmin, who sits in the room in front of him, a wall of glass separating them. The other boy turns away as his own interviewer addresses him, leaving Chan faced with Doctor Lim.

“Oh?” The doctor raises a brow, expression cold. “You have a different idea?”

Chan swallows. “It’s everyone else who needs to be fixed. I’m the one seeing the humans as they are, not these horrific monsters MASS turns them into.”

“You are seeing them as we need you to.”

The air feels cold, and Chan finds himself rubbing his hands up and down his arms despite wearing his full body suit.

“You have been with us two years. You’ve been a good soldier, you’ve made it to top rank for the amount of kills you’ve made. The roaches _have_ to die, because they make us as a race weaker. They are genetically inferior to you and I, and if we are to carry on this species they must be eradicated.”

“Stop calling them roaches!” Chan yells. “You can’t just turn half the planet against one another!”

“You _accepted_ the government’s decision to make you a soldier.”

“Soldiers aren’t normally wired to kill innocent people!”

“And yet, that’s what you’ve been doing this whole time, isn’t it?”

The doctor taps on his iPad, and suddenly Chan is screaming, hands to his temples, a pain worse than the result of the LED light and suddenly he can’t see anything but the fear in his victims’ eyes, cold bullets slamming into their bodies, their innocent blood covering his hands, vision filled with every human he’s ever killed and he’s crying, sobbing, the doctor silent as he curls in on himself, beginning to slam his head against the table.

Through the pain, Chan forces his eyes open, looking past the doctor to see Seungmin through the glass, eyes screwed shut and mimicking Chan’s movements.

“Make it stop! Make it stop!”

“You can choose to have the chip fixed, your memories wiped in less than a minute. You’ll never remember any of this, not even this conversation. Or,” Doctor Lim bends forward, palms pressed against the table to stare Chan directly in the eye, “you can choose the punishment. Locked inside your own mind, by your own choice, viewing yourself killing innocents over and over. And then when you think it’s done, you’ll see it again. It won’t end, and quite frankly, you’ll wish you were dead.”

The doctor taps the iPad once more, and Chan’s cries give way to raggedy breathing.

“It’s your choice.”

He raises his eyes, looking through the glass to Seungmin. The brown-haired soldier mouths something to him, but Chan can’t quite make it out, doesn’t understand the pleading expression. Then the other doctor injects a needle into Seungmin’s neck and his face turns blank. No more crying or screaming, just staring straight ahead.

The doctor leans in, whispering in Chan’s ear, “He made his choice. Now make yours.”

******

“Chuck him in here.”

The cell door slides open, and Jisung looks up in confusion, the other prisoners backing into the corners of the cell, fearful of being taken out.

But no one is taken, only a boy is shoved in, stumbling and falling to the floor, screaming louder than anyone else. He scrambles to his knees, tears streaking down his cheeks and shaking his head over and over.

“Chan?”

The boy opens his eyes to see Jisung before him. “J-Jisung-“

Jisung climbs off his place on the bench, falling to his knees beside the elder.

“I can see them all,” Chan sobs, fingernails digging into his temples. “Every last one of them-“

Through the glass, Jisung watches another soldier pass by, gun in hand, walking by without sparing a glance at the cells. He recognises the boy, Chan’s partner, the one who tried to kill them before he jumped and wound up here.

“Oh god,” Jisung whispers, pulling the blonde to his chest, “oh god, oh god.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trying to be consistent here ndfhgshs 
> 
> let me know what you guys think! x


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> surgery + a prison break

“I heard the Head gave you the okay to perform Changbin’s surgery today.”

Woojin spins around, water bottle falling from his hands. “Felix, I-“

The blonde steps into the office, closing the door behind him. Woojin can’t read the expression on his face, unused to the closed off look of the younger boy, but he nods. “They did.”

“You should’ve told me.” Felix says sharply. He crosses the room to stand in front of Woojin, arms over his chest. “Were you even planning on telling me?”

“Yes- yes, of course,” the elder boy massages his temples. “I just needed a minute to process-“

“I want to assist you.”

Woojin hesitates, moving around his desk to face the younger boy. He reaches out to place a comforting hand on Felix’s shoulder. “Felix,” he licks his lips, tone serious. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea. If something goes wrong…”

“Then I want to be there.” Felix juts his chin forward, determined. “I need to know… I need to know that I am able to do everything I can, if something goes wrong- I need to know I did what I could. I have to be there, Woojin. Please.”

The elder bites his lip in thought.

“Woojin, _come on_. I’m the best nurse to assist on this. Let me have this.”

“Okay.” Woojin exhales, running his hands through his hair. “Fuck! This is- this is going to be…” his voice shakes slightly. “It’s going to be the hardest thing we’ve had to do since working here.”

“It’s going to be shit.”

“It’s going to be shit,” Woojin affirms, nodding his head. “But-“

“We can do this,” Felix interjects. He sits back down next to Changbin and lifts the other’s boy’s hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the inside of his palm and then his eyes glass over, staring at a spot in the wall by the filing cabinets. He speaks again, softly, more to himself than to Woojin. “We have to.”

******

 _BANG, BANG_.

“What was that?”

The cells are suddenly alive with questioning chatter, everyone poised to rush to the back of the room if need be.

“Stay back! STAY THE FUCK BACK!”

Gun shots ring out and the sound of glass shattering mixes with fearful screams that give way to thundering footsteps, and suddenly masses of prisoners are sprinting out of their cells, running for the exit.

“What’s going on?”

“Let us out!”

“Stand back! Now!”

A boy dressed head to toe in black stands in front of the glass, rifle aimed directly ahead. He fires twice, cracks forming at first, then one final bullet to shatter the cell.

Jisung jumps to his feet in shock as he takes in the figure before him. “Minho!”

He bursts into tears, unmoving as the other prisoners fly past him to freedom. He leans down to Chan to stop the other screaming, pulling his hands away from where the elder boy had them braced against the sides of his head.

A strong pair of arms engulf him and Jisung spins around, face buried in Minho’s neck as the black-haired boy holds him tight, kissing the crown of Jisung’s head.

“We gotta go,” Minho urges. “The soldiers will be there already.”

“I know, I know,” Jisung bends to Chan, using all his strength to pull him to his feet. “Quick, help me carry him!”

Minho stops and blinks. “A soldier? I don’t think so.”

“You got away because of him! He’s my friend!”

“How?”

Jisung yells out, frustrated. “Just- that doesn’t matter right now! Focus on getting OUT first!”

“Fine!” Minho moves to hold Chan up, nose scrunching as another of the blonde’s screams near kills his eardrum. “Shit,” He hisses, “is he gonna shut up?”

“Fuck off and HELP ME,” Jisung snaps, looping his arm tighter around Chan’s waist, stumbling as they exit the cell, moving as quickly as they can towards the smashed gap where the door once was, jostled amongst the panicked crowd.

They dash outside, feet crunching over the shattered glass as they hit the driveway. Bodies litter the ground already, a mix of grey uniforms and prisoners, but not enough soldiers have arrived to kill more than five percent of the escapees, most of them scattering and heading for the cover of the trees.

“Don’t bother with the cars,” Minho calls over his shoulder, picking off soldiers as more arrive, pouring out of the dorms like a grey swarm towards the escaping prisoners. “I tried them before I broke in and nothing!”

Chan mutters something between breaths, almost all his weight on Jisung at this point.

“What?” Jisung shouts by Chan’s ear. “Chan, what did you say?”

“Fifty four,” the elder slurs. His head lolls onto Jisung’s shoulders.

“Fifty four, fifty four, fifty four…” Jisung murmurs, frantically glancing around the carpark. He settles on one of the cars ten metres off. “Minho, left! Number plate CS-54!”

Minho changes course, running towards the car then stopping just in front of it. He turns and fires a shot, the bullet splicing past Jisung’s ear to bury itself in a soldier behind. Jisung shrieks, now dragging Chan, adrenaline kicking in when he notes the elder boy is fully unconscious, the soldiers gaining on them quickly with loaded guns.

They arrive at the car and Jisung slams Chan’s palm against the ID scanner, praying MASS haven’t deactivated his ID since throwing him in jail. “Fuck, fuck, fuck- YES!”

The door slides open and Jisung all but throws the blonde soldier in, shoving him into the middle of the seat as Minho leaps in the other side. He tosses Jisung the gun. “Window down, Ji!”

Jisung angles the gun out of the window, firing non-stop, cleanly and accurately at the tyres of the cars starting up beside them, and Minho flattens the accelerator, flooring it down the driveway and away from the main road, crashing through the trees, the two laughing and crying hysterically as Chan lies between them, peaceful and asleep for the first time in three days.

******

“Stay with me, Changbin, stay with me!”

The monitor beeps rapidly, violently, competing with Felix’s screams and Woojin’s orders to _keep going Felix, check his signals Felix, Felix, Felix, Felix…_

The beeping slows down, slower, slower… and then it stops. Silence fills the room, save for Felix’s repeated, hushed words as he hunches over Changbin, arms thrown over the other’s body as he sobs into his chest, everything else forgotten.

 

“Lix?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one more chapter after this laid ease ;;;


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> seungmin can't catch a break; the gang is finally together ;;;;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so here's the final chapter!! 
> 
> it's a lot longer than the others but i think it sums everything up... i hope

“Just rest for now.” Felix smiles down at Seungmin, who lies in one of the make-shift cots in a room shared with ten other patients. He accepts a bottle of water from the blonde nurse, nodding in thanks.

Felix bends to press a kiss to Changbin’s cheek, the older boy sitting in a wheelchair pending recovery from his own operation. “I’ll leave Changbin with you to… discuss whatever it is ex-soldiers talk about.”

With that he skips out of the room and down the hall to help Woojin with the other patients.

Changbin turns to Seungmin. “So how did you get out? Because… from what Jisung told me, you weren’t rotting in the cell alongside those two those three days before Minho went in and got them out.”

Seungmin pinches his nose. “What part of rest. Did you not. Understand.” He sighs, smacking his head against his pillow. “I just woke up less than ten minutes ago, can’t I nap or something?”

“Nope,” Changbin grins cheekily, balancing his chin on his hands. “I want to know how you did it.”

“Who’s more annoying, you or your boyfriend?”

“Definitely Felix.”

Seungmin squints. “Fine,” he relents. He unscrews the lid of his water bottle, taking a sip before speaking. “The day of the raid when Jisung got picked up… Minho dropped that thing- the LED light- pen, thing- whatever it is.”

Changbin nods. “And?”

“I picked it up, pocketed it. Chan told me on our way home that the light did something to us to pause the MASS, causing it to glitch and… I don’t know… fucking it up, I guess. In a good way.”

He takes another sip of his water, not putting the lid back on this time, just rolling it between his fingers. “Later after we got back I passed by the bathrooms on my way to the dorms. Our squad leader was there, talking to one of the doctors, and I heard her say something was wrong with us. That we weren’t responding to the ‘roaches’ correctly anymore. That we needed to be fixed.”

Seungmin laughs a little. “This might sound a bit arrogant, but I was always too smart for them. I would’ve been a great squad leader.”

“Uh…” Changbin raises an eyebrow. “Probably for the best-“

“I know that now,” hisses Seungmin, shaking his head in annoyance. He flicks Changbin’s hands away from where the other boy is playing with the loose threads on his pillow.

Changbin promptly moves them back.

Seungmin groans but continues on. “I slipped inside a stall and wrote a message-“

“What, you just had pen and paper on you?”

“Oh my god,” Seungmin massages his temples, eyes closed. “Yes, for god’s sake, it’s mandatory for soldiers to be prepared for situations where our technology could fail so… yes. Anyway, I wrote to myself to use the light on myself before I went to bed that night-“

“How did you know you’d understand? Wasn’t your memory of the meeting fully erased-“

“That’s exactly _why_ it worked. I had no memory of what the light would do, but the note was written in my handwriting. And I trust myself more than anyone, even if I don’t remember why I need to.”

“Seems fair.”

“It is. Now stop fucking interrupting.” A part of Seungmin wants to laugh at Changbin’s incessant interjections, but he refuses to give the other the boy that satisfaction. “I wrapped the note around the pen and tucked in inside the lining of my jacket, where I keep anything I need to keep close. You don’t have many personal items as a soldier but what you do, you keep safe. I also always wrote notes to myself and kept them there. Things to work on, give me an edge. The usual type-A bullshit.”

Changbin eyes him quietly, but stays silent.

“I finished the meeting, but I didn’t remember any of that, obviously. I only recall being in the hallway afterwards, knowing something was off but unable to pinpoint what exactly. Then the squad leader came by and told me I was late for showers, and I was pissed off because, well, I wanted her job, and was beyond sick of her bossing me around. I then returned my gun and went straight to the showers and checked the lining before getting in the shower, hoping for something to clue me in on what was going on and bingo. There it was. Past me didn’t disappoint. And then I shined the light in my eyes and had a very long, very painful, but very reflective shower.”

“You’re kind of a genius,” Changbin remarks, looking on in wonder.

“I am,” Seungmin says smugly. “But I was also beyond terrified of what they would do to us to make us forget. I wanted to help Chan, but there was no time, and I figured Chan could last, it would be okay if just one of us could do something. The squad leader had her eye on me those three days following, but I guess Minho saved all of us in the end. I would have got out eventually, probably months later, though.”

Changbin whistles, stretching skyward. “Fuck.”

“Yeah, fuck.”

There’s a minute or two of quiet then, Seungmin drinking from the bottle and trying to ignore Changbin’s attempts to instigate a game of slaps.

“You’re lucky you’re handsome, you know.”

The two jump at the voice, Seungmin inhaling sharply as he sees Hyunjin leaning against the doorway, a smirk on his- _annoyingly_ _pretty_ , Seungmin notes- lips. He ventures into the room, right over to Seungmin’s bed and plonking himself right on it.

Seungmin freezes up instantly, avoiding the pretty boy’s smug smile and Changbin’s teasing grin.

“Nice story.”

“I- I thought-“

“That I was dead?” Hyunjin laughs, unsettling Seungmin further. “Stop shying away. I thought I was dead too. I don’t blame you. I was unconscious for a few minutes after you clocked me but I got myself up, half dragged myself across the road and into that forest. I fainted again but… I was right. I was close to the Refuge. And someone found me on their way back, running away from the raid.”

“Oh,” Seungmin says quietly, unsure of what to say. Changbin just shrugs uselessly.

“Or maybe I haven’t forgiven you.”

Seungmin’s head snaps up.

Hyunjin bursts into laughter, leaning toward the other boy on the mattress. “Just kidding,” he whispers. “I just wanted to get you to make eye contact with me. You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

Seungmin growls as Hyunjin winks at him.

Changbin stares between them, flabbergasted. “You’re seriously flirting with the guy who almost killed you? What the fuck is… what? I’m gonna leave.”

He wheels himself out of the room, exaggeratedly coughing on the way out.

“Look what you did, making a disabled man feel unwelcome.”

“Don’t try to act like you didn’t try to get him to leave multiple times,” Hyunjin replies with a giggle. He lies down beside the other boy, clearly pleased by Seungmin’s attempt to wriggle away from him.

“You’re psychotic,” Seungmin stares, eyes wide. He doesn’t know what to think, but stops struggling when Hyunjin takes his hand, the boy biting his lip while laughing under his breath.

“No, I’m Hyunjin.”

******

Woojin opens the door to his office, eyebrows raised when he notices the light already on. He wheels Chan in on a gurney, kicking the door shut with his foot, excited for some quiet time after tending to patients and ridding soldiers of their MASS systems all morning.

“Shit!”

Four pairs of eyes stare at him, Jisung and Minho clearly and unabashedly mid make-out while Seungmin and Hyunjin sit side by side on the bench chair along the wall by Woojin’s desk, the former soldier staring flatly ahead while Hyunjin gazes peacefully at the ceiling.

“Is it Chan’s turn now? Do we need to be quiet?”

“He’s already sedated so it doesn’t matter if you talk or not until I begin,” Woojin says, preparing to lift Chan onto the bed. Seungmin stands to help him, carefully supporting Chan’s upper body as Woojin moves his legs. “But I thought it was just going to be me in here for this, what’s going on?”

“Seungmin should be in the room when Chan wakes up,” Jisung calls out from where he sits, perched comfortably on Minho’s lap on Woojin’s lounge.

“This is turning into a circus.” Minho rolls his eyes. “Do I even need to be in here?”

“He makes a good point,” Woojin nods, lifting a sheet halfway over Chan’s body. “Why are all of you in here exactly?”

“Moral support,” Jisung says swiftly. He shifts in Minho’s lap to kiss him, then pulls away, resting his forehead against Minho’s. “For once in your life, stop being an argumentative bitch.”

“Do you two ever stop?” Seungmin frowns in disgust as he returns to his seat. Minho scoffs, lips returning to his boyfriend’s just to make a point.

Hyunjin smiles warmly, lowering his head to lean on Seungmin’s shoulder. “I think it’s cute.”

“Of course you do.”

The door swings open again and Felix enters the room with his ever-present sunny smile, wheeling Changbin in perhaps a tad faster than a wheelchair should be wheeled. Jeongin follows, almost bouncing with enthusiasm for no apparent reason as far as Woojin could tell: the boy seemed perpetually in a good mood. He found it rather endearing.

Felix settles on the arm of Changbin’s wheelchair, leaving Jeongin to curl up on the armchair beside the two.

“I feel very much like a third wheel right now,” Jeongin says with a pout.

“Is it still a third wheel if there are four couples in the room?”

Jeongin pokes his tongue out at Minho, looking at Jisung in protest. “Tell your boyfriend to try not being a bitch for once.”

“I just did,” Jisung howls mournfully, hitting his fists against Minho’s chest, the other boy smirking rudely as the room fills with laughter.

“Sorry to interrupt but I’m going to need everyone to be silent or leave this room now,” Woojin announces loudly, waiting for the chatter to subside. He waits for their full attention before continuing, “It shouldn’t take long, so long as there are no unforeseen complications as with Changbin…”

Changbin clears his throat. “Not my fault.”

“Be that as it may,” Woojin sniffs, “it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And you will be in debt to me for the rest of your life.”

Felix splutters. “What are you saying-“

“He’s kidding, Lix,” Changbin chuckles weakly, grinning up at the doctor. He threads his fingers through Felix’s, kissing the younger boy’s knuckles. “Forever your loyal servant, Dr Kim.”

Woojin acknowledges this with a laugh, already crossing the room to raise Chan’s bed. Everything is already laid out for the procedure, courtesy of Felix, who watches intently as Woojin finishes washing his gloves.

“Need any help with this one?”

“Not this time,” Woojin smiles. “Just give me twenty minutes.”

******

“Chan? Are you up?”

“Chan?”

“Shut up!”

Chan blinks, slowly. He groans, sitting up a little as he scans the room, everything a blur of colour at first, then his vision begins to focus: a grinning blonde boy with his arms around a darker haired boy sit to his left, beside them sits the red-haired boy with the LED light from the forest Chan thought was gone; a smile ghosts his lips as his gaze passes over Minho and Jisung, the two wrapped around each other so tightly he wonders how Jisung managed without the other those three hazy days they spent in prison.

His jaw drops slightly at the sight of the boy next to them, the boy he thought Seungmin had killed the day of the raid- _Hyunjin_ , he remembers- and even stranger… Hyunjin sits beside Seungmin, his partner leaning forward on his chair, an unfamiliar expression of relief and genuine happiness on his face as he takes in the wonder in Chan’s eyes.

“Hey, you.”

Just two words send a shiver up Chan’s spine: two words from the voice Chan hasn’t heard in two long, lonely years. Then he’s standing in front of him, white coat with the sleeves rolled up to elbow length, tanned arms reaching out to him, and Chan brings himself to look up; tears fill his eyes at the ruffled black hair, brown eyes searching his-

He exhales deeply.

“Hey, Woojin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know jeongin didn't get that much dialogue so i'm sorry for doing our little angel dirty but im sure i will be able to remedy that with another fic at some point ! 
> 
> i havent finished a fic before this and i managed to get this up in under a week so if it seems a little sloppy, that's absolutely because it is dfhhkfgskh
> 
> thanks for reading this far and if u stan nine percent, rocket girls, pd101 china girls or other idol producer boys check out my other long running fic and if u don't stan... then start ;)
> 
> any comments and kudos is appreciated as always, hope you enjoyed the story xxx


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